Fierce tigers and awe-inspiring dragons—these subjects hardly seem to fit into the same category as delicate songbirds like the nightingale and blossoms as ephemeral as the cherry. Even so, a wide array of flora and fauna and bugs and beasts appears in Japanese prints of the genre traditionally called “birds and flowers” (kachō). These Edo-period prints (1608-1867) reflect the profound Japanese appreciation for the natural world.